Safety door lock



April 29, 1958 Q M, GOLEMON 2,832,623

SAFETY DOOR LOCK Filed OCT.. 17, 1955 [l EYE. ,l mw. 5 3 j; CHR/.sroP//ERMGo/ EMQN INVENTOR. 37 /L 2%. @Q1/fg;

30 .34 l5 /7 32 Z6 Z4 33 46E/vr ilnited States Patent SAFETY DOOR LOCK Christopher M. Golemon, West Covina, Calif.

Application October 17, 1955, Serial No. 540,930

3 Claims. (Cl. 292-75) This invention relates to a lock and more particularly to a spring pressed safety door lock.

One object of the invention is to provide a safety'door lock which is adapted to be used on bathroom or other inside room doors, the lock of the present invention being constructed so that when it is locked, there will be no resistance to a normal pull of one attempting to enter and whereby, in the event of an emergency and the putting forth of considerable effort, the lock of the present invention will permit the door to be forced open without damage to either the door or the lock.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spring pressed door lock which includes a spring urged ball mounted within the door, the ball adapted to mate with a socket arranged within a sill yand wherein the lock yields when suitable pressure is applied to the door and yet holds the door securely locked when not disturbed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a safety door lock which is constructed so that a door equipped with the lock of the present invention could lbe readily pulled open or closed, or else the lock can be set so that considerably more eifort is necessary to open the door, the lock permitting the door to be locked from either side independently of the other side.

A further object of the invention is to provide a safety door lock which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other and further important objects of the invention will become apparent from the disclosures in the following detailed speciiication, appended claims and accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the door lock of the present invention and with parts broken away and in section;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the position of the parts when in locked position;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the cams; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified cam actuating means.

With reference to the drawing, the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 through 5, inclusive, comprises a housing or casing 10 that is generally circular and which may be made from two pieces to facilitate assembly thereof, and secured together by means of a screw 11 or the like, that is thread-ably disposed in one of the halves of the housing 10 as at 12. The housing 10 has a relatively large chamber or recess 13 in one end thereof and a coextensive smaller chamber or recess 14, the recesses 13 and 14 being disposed on a common axis lying on the split between the housing halves. A ball 15 is disposed in the recess 13 and retained therein by means of crimping of the material of the housing at 16. Further, the ball 15 is urged toward the outer end of the recess 13 by means of a constant force coil spring 17 which has one end disposed on a shoulder 18 dened between the recesses 13 and 14. Thus, with the outer end of the recess 13 being smaller in diameter than the ball 15, the ball will not be pushed entirely out of the recess 13.

A pair of cams 20 and 21 are moveably mounted in the housing 10 and handles 22 and 23 are provided for guiding the cams 2t) and 21. The handles 22 and 23 have inner square sectional portions 24 which engage in square holes 25 in the cams 20 and 21 with the handles being rotatably mounted on and held in position by means of a shaft 26 and locking screw 27, the shaft 26 extending axially therethrough. The shanks of the handles 22 and 23 are journalled in and guided by transverse portions 28 in the housing 10. Accordingly, each of the ca-ms 20 and 21 may be independently moved -by the respective handles 22 and 23.

As shown, a second coil spring 30 having variable compression characteristics is disposed within the confines of the coil spring 17 and through the recess 14. The potential force of the spring 30 is somewhat greater than the force of the spring 17 and is normally disposed under light compression with one end of the spring 30 engaging the ball 15 and the other end engaging an yannular collar 31 formed on a guide member 32. The collar 31 is adapted for engagement with the cams 20 and 21 and one end of the spring 30 while the guide member 32 extends within the contines of the spring 30. As shown, the housing 10 is adapted for disposition within a portion 33 that is provided inwardly from an edge 34 of a door D. A jamb or sill l of the door D is also provided with a ball receiving member 35 that is held in position by means of screws 36 with the member 35 being formed with a detent 37 that is adapted for reception of the ball 1S. Additionally, for trim purposes, the outer surfaces of the door D may be provided with escutcheon plates 38 that are held in position by means of screws 40 and surround the shanks of the handles 22 and 23.

As shown in Fig. 6 wherein like parts are indicated by like single primed reference characters, a modified form of construction in the guiding mechanism may be utilized. This construction includes a button 41 that has a cam member 42 formed on the inner end thereof. The cam member is slidably disposed in a transverse Ibar 43 in the housing 10 and retained in position in both the housing and the door D yby means of a single escutcheon plate 38 that engages a shoulder 44 on one end of the cam member 42. The cam member 42 is adapted for cooperation with a second cam member 45 formed on a guide rod 46 that is similar in construction and function to the originally described guide rod 32. Thus, upon depression of the button 41, the guide rod 46 will be moved in a direction as indicated by the dotted lines to compress the spring 30 for a purpose hereinafter to be more fully described.

From the foregoing, it is therefore apparent that a safety spring door lock has been provided which can be readily used with bathroom or other inside room doors. The lock of the present invention is constructed in such a manner that, when it is in locked position, it will resist a normal pull of one attempting to enter but in the event of an emergency and the putting forth of considerable effort, the lock can be forced open without damage to either the door or the lock. With this in mind, the lock of the present invention includes the spring-pressed ball 15 that is adapted to mate or engage with the detent socket 37. The ball 15, when the lock is in an unlocked position, yields when suitable light pressure is applied to open the door but will still act to hold the door securely closed when not disturbed by reason of the constant force of the spring 17 and the light compressive force of the spring 30 acting on the ball 15. inasmuch as the spring 30 has a potentially greater force than the spring 17,

it will be seen that the resistance to movement of the ball l 15 may be increased by compressing the spring 30 by rotation of the cams 20 and 21 and movement of the guide member 32. Thus, the combined forces of the springs 17 and 30 act to hold the ball l5 in the socket 37 at all times, with greater force being applied to the ball when the lock mechanism is in a locked position. As shown in Fig. 6, this action may also be accomplished by means of the push button 4l. Y

The actuating position of the present lock is shown in Fig. 4 wherein considerable resistance to movement of the door Will be experienced due to the combined spring forces against the ball 15 in pressing this ball into the detent socket 37. The provision of the pair of handles as at 22 and 23 enables the lock to be operated from either side of the door D independently of the other side thereof. Having thus described the invention and the present embodiments thereof, it is desired to emphasize the fact that many further modiiications may be resorted to in a manner limited only by a just interpretation of the followmounted in a door; a chamber in said housing; a shoulder arranged interiorly of said housing; a ball positioned in said chamber and projecting out of said chamber for engagement with said socket member; a first coil spring oi constant force and having one end engaging said ball and its other end engaging said shoulder; a second coil spring extending through said first coil spring and having one end engaging said ball; a guide lmember extending into and engaging another end of said second coil spring; and manually operable means accessible from without said door for varying the force of said second coil spring.

2. ln a locking mechanism for use with a socket member mounted in a sill: a housing adapted to be mounted in a door; a chamber in said housing; a shoulder arranged interiorly of said housing; a ball positioned in said chamoer and projecting out of said chamber for engagement with said socket member; a iirst coil spring of constant force and having one end engaging said ball and its other end engaging said shoulder; a second coil spring extending through said iirst coil spring and having one end engaging said ball; a guide member extending into and engaging another end of said second coil spring; and manually operable means for varying the force of said second coil spring, said manually operable means comprising a pair of cams independently movably mounted in said housing and provided with registering openings, a pair of opposed handles disposed for access from exterior surfaces of said door and provided with reduced end portions extending through the openings in said cams, and a pin disposed transversely of said housing for connecting said handles together.

3. 'in a locking mechanism for use with a socket member mounted in a sill: a housing adapted to be mounted in a door; a chamberin said housing; a shoulder arranged interiorly of said housing; a ball positioned in said chamber and projecting out of said chamber for engagement with said socket member; a first coil spring of constant force and having one end engaging said ball. and its other end engaging said shoulder; a second coil spring extending through said first coil spring and having one end engaging said ball; a guide member extending into and engaging another end of said second coil spring; and means for varying the force of said second coil spring, said means comprising a cam carried by said guide member and provided with an inclined surface, a block slidably disposed in said housing and having a tapered surface for engaging said inclined surface, and a handle connected with said block for moving said cam, said handle being accessible from an exterior surface of said door.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 426,905 Bleha Apr. 29, 1890 681,379 Tidd Aug. 27, 1901. 945,461 Hubbard ian. 4, 1910 2,439,057 Russell Apr. 6, 1948 2,541,720 Robinson Feb. 13, 1951 2,581,606 Seaman et al. Jan. 8, 1952 

